Bears' Obafemi prepares for suspension

Backup fullback Obafemi Ayanbadejo is practicing, playing in preseason games and preparing. But he will serve a league four-game suspension for a substance-abuse violation.

Reed Schreck

Backup fullback Obafemi Ayanbadejo is practicing, playing in preseason games and preparing.

Preparing for that first month of the Chicago Bears’ 2007 season which will go on without him. He will serve a league four-game suspension for a substance-abuse violation.

That means the 7 p.m. Thursday home game against Cleveland will be his final chance to wear a Bears uniform until October.

“You have a certain idea of how things are going to go,” he said. “The difficult thing to prepare for is mentally, as far as how the preseason goes because they know I’ll miss four weeks. The best-case scenario is I’ll be here after four weeks.

“It’s kind of hard to figure out what the mental approach is. I try to block it out as much as I can and play every game like it’s my last — and, hopefully, it’s not.”

Ayanbadejo, signed in June after Arizona waived him, said feedback from the organization “has been good.”

“There’s nothing that’s alerted me to things that might be negative,” he said. “I think the preseason is what it is supposed to be — a feeling-out process to some extent when you’re a new player with a new team. You just want to improve week to week, eliminate the mistakes and get yourself feeling good to play games.”

Through it all, he’s never doubted his ability on the field and to get through this ordeal off the field.

“For me, I’m not going to be able to play a game for a while,” he said. “I know I can play and know what I can do. I know what I’m capable of as a player. Is it safe or fair to say I’ve shown that in every preseason game? I think I have at times. Those guys on the other side of the ball are getting paid, too.

“You want to keep mental mistakes to a minimum, and when you get an opportunity, you want to take advantage of it.”

Vroom! Vroom!

Cornerback Nathan Vasher also has a Lamborghini, as does linebacker Lance Briggs. Does Vasher find other drivers want to see what he — or more precisely his car — can do on the highway?

“Because it’s a high-performance sports car, they want to pull up next to you and sometimes do that,” he said. “I don’t really get into that. I just try to get from Point A to Point B, and that’s it.”

Healthy again

Return man/receiver Devin Hester returned to practice Monday without limitations. He came out of Saturday’s game against San Francisco in the first half with a bruised shoulder.

“It’s not even a bruise ... It was a bruise, but I don’t feel anything right now,” he said. “So I’m 100 percent.”

“We had a scare when you see one of your best players go down,” head coach Lovie Smith said of Hester. “At the time we didn’t think it was anything serious, and seeing him on the football field is confirming that.”

Affiliated Delaware Papers

Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted.
Smyrna/Clayton Sun-Times ~ 24 W. Main St., Middletown, DE 19709 ~ Privacy Policy ~ Terms Of Service